Ghost of the living
by DjEdge
Summary: A GITS/Naruto Xover. Based on Stand alone complex, with my own few tweeks to the story board and and a extra member to the cast... “Even if I answered yes or no, my answer is void of its meaning, as it comes from a ghost.” Rated M for safety reasons.
1. Chapter 1

Ghost of the living

I still remember how it all started. How my friends and family died, and yet I was denied the right to leave the living. I was supposed to restore life, from what the prophesy said. And yet here I stand, prophesy fulfilled and yet I am alive? And so I began a new journey of which i thought that when life was back on this bloody rock, I would be able to leave, but no, I was not allowed to die. What a load of croc...

_I have lived far longer than one would want, and should be allowed to. Ive seen things, learned about secrets to deep for even the most righteous, or nefarious person to know, and yet I must never tell anyone about them. But there are things in life that one can speak of, and it is about life itself. Ive become as much part of history, as history become part of me._

_Ive watched as civilizations rise, flourish, then drift into despair and destruction. I was there when the Egyptians Ive fought along side Alexander, ive commanded armies of the roman empire. Ive studied the wondrous life of the Zulu and Maya civilization. I walked alongside the crusaders on their great crusade, but in the end, I worked to stop their madness. I commanded a trading ship in the Caribbeans, and in the end, I hunted others as a pirate. Ive weigh war against the English, in the name of France, and then the French, in the name of England, and in the end the Germans. I traveled the great plains of America, meeting the native Indians, mining the gold during the great age. I even hunted down the men and women who broke the law, but I never harmed those that did it because of need, only those of greed._

_I lead soldiers in the wars ive fought, and in each war, ive killed more than needed. But ive also saved more people than any other. And when the cold war started, i vanished yet again, as with each era, into the history books as nothing but a shadow warrior, a man without a name and face. I thought i wouldn't need to bother again. Oh how wrong i was. _

_(for a reference, you could think of this as a several millennium old Logan(Wolverine), but still not him)_

_So many people died, when the bombs started to fall upon city's worldwide. Nuke after Nuke, it was nothing but a tragedy. But as the glow of WW3 ended, a new technology started to come fourth. Cyberisation. And with it another war, a non nuclear this time, praise the gods..._

_The life we live, as most know it, had changed. Since the beginning of Cyberisation, life has become more and more, a battle to remain as your own original. Cybercrime, hacking, and so on has become more than some bored kid who only did it for fun. No, its grown into a completely own branch of organized crime. But thats what the cybercops are there for. I have seen a lot of things in my life, but one place still brings memories back..._

_Public Security Section 9, New port city, Japan._

_Prologue Transmission... ended..._

Lets set the scene. Its a late night in new port city, the sky is clear, and the stars are shining. The jungle of a city is shining with all the lights coming out of the skyscrapers and tall buildings, giving it a feeling of being alive, burning, blazing, shining its light onto the canvas of the star-speck night, like thousands miles of fire. As we sweep along the roofs of the city, we come to the tallest one in the city. Standing there, a lone figure stands, watching over the city.

The figure is dressed in a black hooded trench coat, with a red line running along the middle of his back and right between the shoulders, In a upside down red triangle, with two white wings, fastened to a black sword , a red shirt with black stripes running from the chest outwards to shoulders and hips in an X, and black, red lined pants with several belts wrapped around the legs, black strap-boots, several belts sets hanging around his hips, with one hanging down along his leg, with brown hard edged pouches hanging from the belts, and a lone holster for a gun hanging from behind his hip, hidden by the trench coat. In his left hand he holds a simple, Red hilt/sheath O-katana, a black line running along the sheath down on both sides, with a red strip of cloth hanging from the hand-guard. In his right he holds a black leather bound book, which he currently is reading from.

That is until he closes the book, showing that his face is covered by a white proclaim mask, with two red lines running from his eyes to his back jaw, two black lines, starting from the middle of his jaw, running along to his eyes and beyond, making two V's on the mask. As he lowers the book, he puts it in a satchel, hanging under his left arm. All while looking out into the city.

As he looks out into the city, he sees a lot of things. The lights of the red light district, how the lights of it reflected on the signs and windows in that area, the business district, which seemingly never slept, as there always was more then half the lights on, the lights of the planes and aircraft flying through the city, as they took of and landed on the local airport, or simply flew a nightly round through the city, the cars on the streets, the sound of the police sirens ringing in the distance, a purple haired woman jumping from a rooftop, some native birds flying, the scent of the black blue sea... wait, a woman jumping from a rooftop?!

As he focus on the woman, he notice a man on the roof below her. The man is heavily built, which could be the result of a complete cyborg body. And as she lands, he seems to get scared, pulls a gun out, firing at the woman as she jumps towards her. His efforts to hit her are thought worthless, seeing that she already twisted his arm useless as she wrapped her legs around it, and as she jumps back, he fires a single round more, missing, and at which he seems to try and escape by jumping to another building. But one must remember, don't do that when someone is aiming at you. They might be a good shoot. As he learned the hard way.

As the two battle their words out as she puts the gun at his head, and as her hand slowly twitches to shot his head off, she suddenly stops. Cybercoms... and as the man listen in on the 'secure' channel she was using, a chopper appears next to her building. As she walks towards the chopper, she suddenly looks straight at him, like if she could see him. She stands there for a while, until her friend, who was trying to see what had caught her attention, in the chopper calls for her, at which she just shakes her head and boards the chopper. And all the trench coated man does is smile, though not seen behind the mask 'You always seemed to know where I was. Is it your ghost whispering, or are you still the heck of a person you always have been, Motoko.' he thought as he jumped, cape flying behind him like wings, only for him to disappear into the night.

_'Jumping forward 15 min'_

As he watches the group land the chopper in a secure position, they run in the own separate ways. Three running towards a large restaurant mansion, in between skyscrapers. A feudal style mansion, which seems to be the site of some sort of incident, seeing that theres police all over the place. Cars, trucks, and a MCV parked right outside the front entrance. As the cops and military run around, the independent squad of Section 9 seemingly sets up shop right in the middle, a sniper on the roof right over the street, a big blond haired guy kneeling with a blue tachikoma, the woman, Motoko, hidden at the front gate, two running down into the sewers, and two more in a car, parked nicely in an alley.

But the one catching the masked mans interest is the old man, Daisuke Aramaki, head of section 9, walking towards the MCU-van. As he goes in the 7 S9 members seems to run a check on everything around them. But what made his eyebrow rise again was that Motoko was looking at him again, somehow, then turned back to her work.

As Aramaki exits the command vehicle, he starts to talk to his friend thought the cyberlink. "Anything you can tell about why the military wants in on this" "Only that one of our own is in there, thats all I can say for now, sorry". After their little talk, he starts to inform his charges of what is going on. As the plan goes through, he starts to hear the report.

"Chief, scene is secure, one female hostage needs immediate medical attention for severe wounds, one male, early thirties dead from severe head trauma".

Aramaki gives orders for the hostages to be extracted from the scene. When hes done, he sighs and looks around the place, at which he suddenly notices a masked man on the other side of the street, watching him, at which he suddenly starts waving his hand for Aramaki to come closer. He raises an eyebrow at this, after which he looks around himself, then starts to walk towards the man, or more like the newspaper machine next to him.

"Arashi, it has been a while, probably to long actually. How are you?" Aramaki asked, as he paid for a newspaper, and opened it. "I have been alive, if thats what you mean. And I don't go by Arashi for the moment, my name until otherwise is for now... it's Kane, simply Kane" he said as he reached into his coat, pulling out a piece of paper.

"I think it would be wise to look into this affair a bit more then usual. There is something wrong with the whole scene at hand. It feels, to... easy." he said as he started to walk away behind Aramaki, but not before putting the piece of paper in Aramaki's newspaper, on which it only said "look deeper than the surface, for there are beasts in the depths of the sea, that never tread above it"

Aramaki looked at the message, but was confused. "What do you mean by..." he asked as he turned around, but found no one there. Sighing he started to walk back to the car he came in, just as one of his colleagues appeared. "Hey, what were you doing over there, chief. Trying to find something about your horoscope, or what. Luck leads the old or what?" she asked as she smiled, at which he did as well. "No not really, major. I just received a tip, from one of my more, trustworthy colleagues, that Ive known a long, long time." he said as he sat down in the backseat of a red Toyota. The major looked confused as she put her equipment into the trunk, and sat down in the driver seat.

"What do you mean 'trustworthy colleagues', are we not trustworthy, chief?" she asked amused. He looked at her thought the rear view mirror at her with a plain look. "Section 9 is the most trustworthy organization of people out there. Its just that this man has been in my service for a lot longer than any of you have. He actually worked for me, even before section 9 came into making" he said, as the car set into motion. As it came to the crossing it took a left, heading west, towards the freeway.

"'Before section 9 came into making', what are you talking about, chief.?" she asked, her expression not changing. At which Aramaki nodded. "Im talking about a special member of the team. Hes a 'secret' member of section 9, the ace in the hole, you might call it" he said, as the car took turn up on the freeway, battling with the rest of the traffic. "'Ace in the hole', your talking about the delta section, aren't you. I thought it was simply a information glitch, falsified info, a filing mistake not related to anything." she said as she steered into a free section of the road, to pass a larger truck.

"no its been an active department of the section, thought not officially or unofficially. There are no records about this, except my personal memory, that is and even then its not much" he said as he look out on the gleaming city through the car window, while making a sickly smile, at which the major got interested. "Your the only person with info about him then. So, who is our 'unknown' Squad member?" she asked as she turned to leave the freeway.

Aramaki sighed, as he leaned back in the seat. Rubbing his eyes, he then looked into the mirror, right at the majors face. "His codename changes each decade, I believe. Probably to disappear when he feels the need to vanish from the stage of world theater. His previous one was Arashi, thought he calls himself Kane this time, its all the info I can give, besides the official titles thats been given to him." he said, as he looked out the window again. "Ghost blade" Thought he noticed that the majors eyes opened a bit more, at the name Arashi, and even more at Ghost blade

"You've meet him, I see" he said as he chuckled, at which she smiled a bit.

"Yeah, during the 'Second Vietnam' around the Siam Peninsula . Even as the war went on it had stalled into a war of attrition between Europe and Asia. Then one day, at the area of Shinuiju, just as the company of peace keepers I was in, was about to storm a stronghold point, a single man walked right into the war zone. I think it was back then he gained the name Ghost blade, because of how easily he killed off the enemy." she said as her face turned dim, like in thought.

"Ive never meet someone who can move so fast. It was like he could see what they did before they even did. And the freakiest part was that he... he used a sword more than his gun, and even then, he dodged bullets, even at close range. The only reminder that he was shot at would be the holes in the trench coat's lower part, and the blood flying as the bodies of his enemies fell apart."

"The higher ups in command were mildly freaked out when a unknown man decimated an entire enemy brigade in less than 20 minutes. And seeing no one saw him except the witness-reports of some captives that were in the stronghold, he was never found, thous the name Ghost blade.( FYI: 1 brigade is about 4000-5000 troops. I know, impossible to do, but hey it makes for good legends and story's)" she said as she drove down the ramp into the parking lot of section 9's building. As Aramaki got out, the major stood up at the drivers door, leaning over the car roof.

"So, when will we meet the legendary 'Ghost blade'" she asked, as Aramaki walked towards the elevator. As he stood at the elevator doors, waiting for it to open, he then spoke. "It wont be a matter of time, but of when its necessary for him to appear. Hes a ace, you don't use it at the first sign of trouble. Unless u have certain reasons to do so." he said as the doors closed, and it started to go up . She only shook her head, closing the car door. As she lock it, she suddenly heard a sound behind her, and saw a white mask in the car windows reflection, at which she naturally went for her gun, but as she tried to pull it out, she found she couldn't move her arm.

"I would prefer if we didn't start a gunfight here, Major. It would cause an unwanted disturbance to rise, and questions asked, that none of us want to answer" the masked man said. As she looked down to her arm, she saw the red/black sheat, sitting against her arm, holding it in place. Biting her lip, she turned her hand so it faced away from the gun, at which the sheat was moved from her arm. As she moved her hand away from the gun, she tried turning her head to look at the mask better to look at him better, but when she did, he was already gone.

I don't think its wise to look for something that isnt there, Motoko." he said behind her, causing her to spin around, seeing him standing several yards away, leaning against the pillar on the other side of the car. "Who are you, I know ive meet you before. Are you Ghost blade, that the chief talked about." she asked as he leaned against the pillar, looking in another direction, occasionally looking at her. "Even if I answered yes or no, my answer is void of its meaning, as it comes from a ghost." he simply said, as he looked right at her, as the sound of a car started in the lower car park floors.

"It wasn't what I asked of you, but if its both, I take it as a yes." she stated as she watched the man standing on the other side of the car. Of course she was reluctant to believe him until she knew more, at which she remembered an important slip of info. "The chief said you wouldn't show yourself until it was necessary, so what is it that is so important to meet me here and now" she asked as she continued to study the man, at which the man started to chuckle. "Its not a matter of why this time, I simply came to say, that you should be careful with the investigation. There is something wrong with the entire case. Be on the look out for some, 'uncommon abnormalities' in the whole hostage situation." he said as he stood there, turned around and started to walk away. "Hey wait, I'm not done talking with you!" she yelled. As he did she ran around the car to confront him, but as she passed the pillar he had stood by, he was already gone.

Snapping her head back and fourth, she found no sign of his presence at all, as she holstered her gun, all while her face was twitching in silent frustration. Grunting, she turned and walk up to the elevator, and pressed the 'UP' button, while rubbing right arm with her left. He hadn't hurt her, but he still was able to make her unable to move it with a sword sheath, which proved one. Either he was using some sort of disruptor she never seen, or he was just that strong, but it hadn't left a mark, so she thought it might have been the first. "Who are you, and what did you mean by 'uncommon abnormalities'. Is there something we've overlooked, or what" she said to her self as she entered the elevator and pressed the appropriate button.

A while later, as she entered Aramaki's office. As she listened in on what Kubota had to say, she waited for him to leave. "well?" "Look into the ministers conduct one more time. And dig around what really happened in that restaurant. Ill have a another look at the _militaries_ interest in the Ichinose report" he said as he sat in the chair, behind the desk. As she looked at him smiling, she started to walk out, but stopped as she touched the door handle. "You know..." she began, catching Aramaki's attention. "...I meet someone down in the parking lot. He said that we should look out for 'uncommon abnormalities', right before he disappeared from sight." she said as she walked out the door.

Aramaki sat in the chair, sighing heavily. "'uncommon abnormalities', U used to say that when something really wasn't right. What could have spooked you to show yourself so easy." he said to himself as he went started to look up with different contacts about important things.

With the major, she came upon Batou standing outside a interrogation room, leaning against the door, looking into it, with a sour face. As she walks closer, he suddenly turns to her, then going back to being sour. "Burning out his memories, mans got some guts. We weren't able to stop it from happening. And thanks to him and that white masked guy, I'm the laughing stock of the whole section." he said, not noticing the surprised face on the major. "white masked man?" she asked, looking at Batou as he turned around, leaning against the door. "Yeah, while Borma and Pazu were driving after him on the road, I was getting ready to jump the guy. But just as I jumped, his face hit something or someone, as his face stopped but not his body, so he was flying on his back, until he was smashed down into the pavement by this camouflaged guy. Of course, I hadn't expected this, so I landed a bit to rough on the pavement. Pasu was able to stop the car before he ran him over, but as he did, and I was back on my feet, what had stopped him flickered into view, maybe just for a second, but still long enough for me to see the white mask he wore." he told her as he sighed, with his head hanging in shame.

As the major looked at him for a moment, thinking about what she heard, she simply shook he head, and started to walk again. "I guess we have someone who wanted to help us this time, even if we don't need it. Oh, and were gonna take a look at the crime scene, to find out what happened. But keep things on standby..." she said as she walked towards the firing range. "...Cause Ive been told something is wrong with the whole scenario here. Better be ready if anything happens." at which Batou nodded and looked into the window again. 'what a hell of a way to end the week' he thought as he sighed again.

**'Who is this Ghost Blade? How come hes an old friend to the chief? What will happen with the investigation? Stay tuned...'**

**A/N**

**This was supposed to be much longer, but I will cut it here, until I get my creativity flowing again... plus your review will give me much needed pointers to what you find good and bad about this fic, and in what direction I must improve... so review... plz...**


	2. Chapter 2

**Ghost of the living: We missed something, but what?**

Its was a beautiful day in a Newport public park today. Suns shining, birds singing, so peaceful, so quiet. People walking around, the sound of children laughing and playing, a quiet buzz of the huge metropolis sounding off in the background. And yet, a quiet sense of safety lingered as several members of Section 9 patrolled the grounds, looking for something unusual. This was the scene that Ghost came upon as he walked through the park, cloaked, and hidden from view in the shadow of the trees, as he followed the gravel-path, to a semi-open clearing in the park-forest.

Why they had been so prepared for anything was obvious now, as the camera moves towards two lone park benches in the clearing. Sitting there on one of them, was the old man Aramaki himself, reading a paper copy report. Ghost knew what the old man was doing, so he leaned against the nearest tree, and observed the conversation. And as he predicted, an old gray haired man in a fancy suit and a old cane, walked up to the other bench and sat down, griping his cane with both hands. And with Ghost's keen hearing, we go into the conversation...

"How are the grandchildren" the newcomer asked. Aramaki simply changed the page of his report, before answering without looking. "Well what do you think" "Your impatient as always" the other man said before sighing heavily. Aramaki raised his eyebrow a bit before steeling his expression. "The report has no impact on the military's budget. Its really nothing that would be of importance to you" Aramaki frowned heavily at that "Who said that, bureaucrats or politicians?" was his simple question, at which the old man smiled slightly. "Any military man who could be hurt by it, shouldn't know anything about it. Don't poke it, if you don't know what it is." at which he turned his head slightly to Aramaki. "Those are your word's" after which Aramaki stood up, still staring straight ahead. "You haven't change, I see" or that was what he would have said, if he hadn't seen someone in the woods, at which his head lowered a bit.

Ghost saw this as his call-sign, as he de-cloaked and walked out into the open, walking towards Aramaki. For a few seconds Aramaki seemed to prepare for the worst, but then he notices the mask and red-lined coat. Letting out a large sigh of relief, he looked up at Ghost. "Oh, its only you." this seemed to draw the attention of the older man sitting, as when he saw Ghost, his mouth opened slightly. Aramaki, noticing this in his peripheral, smiled, as he nodded to the side and motioned with his hand "Come on, lets go." Ghost simply nodded, as he fell into steps with Aramaki, slightly behind him on his left leaving the other old man behind, as Ishikawa came up on his right, whispering slightly. "The major is waiting for you" was all he said, and Aramaki simply grunted in confirmation as they hastened their walk towards the car by the outskirt of the park, all while Ishikawa hadn't even seen Ghost, as the hack making him invisible to anyone looking at him was only lifted on Aramaki.

As they reached the road, a red sedan with right hand drive was parked at the side of the road, with the major sitting in the right back seat. As Aramaki opened the door, he leaned down to look peer into the car. "Well, what did you find out?" he asked as he sat down in the car. As he did, Ghost opened the front left passenger door, and sat down. As he sat down and looked into the passenger seat, he lifted the eye hack on Motoko, making her blink a bit at his sudden appearance. She didn't say anything though, as he held his index finger against the white mask, right over where his mouth would be. She understood what it meant, nodded and pulled out a card. "Its surveillance video from the Yanagi building, and there is some footage taken from security cameras inside the restaurant bothering me" she said as she gave the card to Aramaki. While he was putting it in the reader and plugging himself in, Motoko noticed something about ghost. A slight golden yellow light came out of his right eye slit. 'A cybernetic eye?' she thought to herself, and filed it away for future reference.

After the brief explanation of the footage on the card, she went on with her conversation "but this doesn't fit with the statement of the other NAIPA official, because according to the account he gave, he witnessed the official who was killed get attacked first, and then the secretary. The head of the support association was way to plastered to remember much, however, he told the police he was fairly certain he heard the secretary screaming first." She finished, looking at Ghost, who was nodding. She frowned a bit, not sure if this was a confirming her possible suspicion or that he knew more than they did, but wanted them to figure it out themselves. All while Aramaki was frowning as well, in deep thought "What was it the woman witnessed." he asked out loud, just wanting an answer, his eyes shifting to ghost in the front seat, as if he would know more. Motoko had a bit more to think about.

'What is he doing here, and why hasn't Ishikawa noticed him yet. Is his eyes hacked? Yes, Ishikawa has only looked at the side mirrors and the rear view mirror, his posture is also to relaxed, so why can the chief and I see him then. Its possible that the hack is only applied in a automated fashion and then removed in succession to control who see's him and who doesn't. But why would he do this if he showed himself in front of Batou, Pasu and Boma. And from what I know, he could be fully prosthetic, or even cyborg, but his movements that day in the garage were to fine, to precise to be mechanical, but it doesn't add up. So, its possible that he has a fully organic body, but a cyberized brain.' She continued to think of all kinds of scenarios and possibility, but was cut of by Togusa, who had an urgent tone in his voice. _*****__Major, the was a report that the minister was into body swapping with geisha's, right?*_ As she listened she knew what he was talking about, _*Right, your point?*_. _*What if someone switched the ministers brain-case.*_ At this, the major and the chiefs eyes opened up in realization of what he meant. _*If the perpetrator was after the Ichinose report, he would need the outer appearance of the minister, are you following yet*_. Aramaki then understood the whole situation. "The secretary walked into the restroom during the switch and that's why she was attacked." As he said this, the major yelled to Ishikawa, who started up the car, and did a burnout start after checking the mirrors.

As they were speeding towards the airport, Aramaki pulled out his cellphone and rang up Kobuta. "Kobuta, its Aramaki. Listen, about the minister..." but he was cut of by Kobuta who sounded very stressed. "The minister just left with the Ichinose report, and he was accompanied by people from the NIAPA. He was given an encoded printout that cant be copied, so that should at least by us some time before he can de-digitalis it, but I don't..." that's when Aramaki got irritated. "Just tell me where he is?" at which Kobuta said he was on his way to the airport and onto a flight to America, and as he told this, Motoko started giving orders to Batou and the others. Just as she did, she remembered that ghost was in the car, or he had been, as she turned he eyes to the seat where he had been, which was now empty. She frowned slightly, thinking he had cloaked himself again, but as she reached out she only meet air. Sitting back down, she looked at Aramaki. "When did he get out, he was in the seat when we started to move?" she whispered to him. What she got was simple but confusing. "He's everywhere, and nowhere. You can never find him, if he doesn't want you to. And when he decides to help you, he'll go to hell and back to do it. And if your his enemy..." At which his voice ebbed out, as he stared out into the city that rushed by. "… he will kill you without mercy, without remorse." After which he shook his head and started to make a bunch of calls.

As the car drove along the street, Ghost was musing to himself. 'So, the Americans decided to start playing foul? Oh, they will learn what happens when you try to do that when im around' he thought to himself as he stood up, coat flapping in the wind, as he jumped of the cars roof, of to the side of the road, falling down onto the street below, slamming into the pavement, shattering it. Looking around him he saw no one around, then started to walked into a dark alley, and started to fade from view, just as a breeze blew paper and scraps across the alley.

15 minutes later, a section 9 designated VTOL flew onto the airstrip on the Newport Airport. As it descended, the side door opened, and the Major and Batou jumped out of the aircraft, landing among the workers then running of towards the terminal. As the aircraft landed, the rest of the team, including Togusa and Aramaki stepped out. Looking at them all, Aramaki nodded as they nodded back, then turned and ran after the major and Batou. As he watched them run off, he turned to the workers. "Tell your superiors that this landing pad has been requisitioned for the moment by section 9." As he started to walk towards the Airport terminal, Togusa walked besides him. "Chief, ive got a question" Aramaki looked at Togusa "Yes, what is it?" "Well, a while ago, after the VTOL took off, the major asked you if 'ghost' would take part. Chief, who was she talking about." As Aramaki walked, he knew that Togusa wouldn't let it go. "'Ghost', as is his designated code-name, is a friend and colleague of mine, he helped me start up Section 9 back then. He was the one searched the world and he was the one who found you all, and was the one who chose you to work with us." Togusa looked surprised at this fact. "What! But I thought you... why, why have we never meet him, if hes part of section 9, why have we never heard of this before. I mean you have clearly stated before that 'you' alone started section 9"

As they entered the terminal, they were meet with the receptionist, who bowed as they walked past. "Why I never told anyone? Because he told me not to." Togusa looked confused at this. "He has always said that the world is to fragile, that if he participate in the politic and ideals that we have today, he would leave no one alive. He despises those who break oaths and promises, and betrayal against those who depend on you. Hes the kind of person who believes that, if you promise something, you have to keep that promise, even if it kills you. Otherwise he will have no respect for you, and that is a dangerous thing to have. Yet worse is if you harm innocent people without remorse, direct or indirect." he said as he put a hand on the door to the terminal where the fake minister was, then said to himself loudly, something that scared Togusa slightly. "The last person who did such a thing... not even section 9 would find a trace that he even existed in the first place." he then opened the door and walked in.

As they walked in, they saw the minister walking towards the boarding-gate. "Just a moment, minister" at which the minister and his 4 bodyguards from the NAIPA turned around and noticed Aramaki and Togusa. "Ah, its you. Thanks for saving my life, what can I do for you today". Aramaki walked forwards taking out a piece of paper and handing it to the minister. "I came out here in order to deliver this letter" The minister frowned slightly, looking at Aramaki and the paper, as he put the briefcase down, and took the letter. "What is it?" he asked as he opened it, and started to read it out loud. "Order for removal from public office for medical treatment." at which his voice rose "Removed! What the hells the meaning of this." but Aramaki didn't even flinch, as he stared the minister down. "Having read that letter your no longer the minister of foreign affairs, as of now." "What, on who's authority!" "On that of the prime minister and the board members of the ruling party. You may verify it for yourself." As he finished he straighten out a little "Now assemblymen, last nights events have put you under the suspicion of spying, as well as seeking asylum in a foreign country" as he said that the people in front of him were looking at each other, and the minister looked furious.

"Who the hell do you think you are" and that was as long as he got, cause as he said that, he noticed the three red dots trembling on his chest. Suddenly two of the bodyguards reached for their sidearms, but as they tried, Togusa had already drawn his, aiming it at the group. "Don't move, hes not the man your supposed to protect" As they raised their hands, Togusa knelt while still looking at the group and reached for the case. As he pulled it towards himself, he opened the locks, and flipped it open gently. Inside was a metal cased brain, with a life-support system keeping it alive. Togusa then turned to Aramaki "Chief, we've secured the braincase" The minister looked afraid at that point, and took a slight step back, just so that he was next to the nearest bodyguard.

Aramaki stared him down as he talked. "Care to tell us who you are, its only a matter of time. Take him away" As he said that, and Togusa turned to nod to the chief, the fake minister moved towards the belt-mounted gun on the bodyguard, and pulled the same person in front of him as a shield. As the gun was raised and aimed at Aramaki, yells, screams and warnings ringed in the hall.

,,,But with a loud bang, the gun was shot out of the ministers bleeding hand. When everyone looked where the shot came from, they all noticed the masked man standing in the corner, his revolver still smoking from the shot he fired. "Never turn your back on the enemy, even if hes defeated. He might just be carrying a bomb, or be a man with no regret or will to surrender. I taught you that a long time ago, Aramaki" His voice vibrated in the room, as he flicked the revolver open, as a single casing fell from its chamber. "It seems lady luck does not appreciate thief's, liar's and murderers." he said as he laughed as he started to walk forward, pushing the trenchcoat away with the gun and holstering it, concealing it behind his back as the trenchcoat flowed back hiding most of his features. As he did Batou and Saito shifted their aim to him, but as they did Aramaki roared. "Put the guns away, hes a friend." Batou and Saito, both who were under active-camouflage looked at each other, then put their guns away. All why Togusa escorted the fake minister away. Aramaki watched the minister be taken away, then turned to Ghost.

"Why do you always have to wait to the last second before doing anything. It puts so many people at risk even if you save them" Aramaki didn't seem to mince his words today, as the members of section 9 gathered behind the chief. "Hey, old man, you know this guy?" Batou asked in frustration, looking at Ghost with a frown. Ghost looked back at him, then leaned his head. "Well, its true I helped, and caused you to fall as you did back then, but you should not blame others if something doesn't work like you planned. Life is not a road of simplicity nor is it linear, its a road of hardships that you must overcome. Only by accepting your faults, may you live a life without regret." he said as he turned to Motoko, and nodded his head slightly. "It is good to see you are still as capable as you have always been. The same is to be said to the both of you." he said as he looked at Batou and Saito, both looking confused, and Batou frowning slightly.

"What do you mean by that?" Batou asked, but ghost turned to Motoko instead. "Hey, im talking to you, you..." and as he reached out to grab his shoulder, ghost gripped around his wrist staring at him as he bent the hand upwards, and to everyone's surprise, forcing Batou down on his knees while staring down onto his face. "You don't need to know, not yet. You will learn soon enough when its necessary for you to know. 'Knowledge is power, use it well', these are the words of my master and now my words to you. So stand down, Batou." he then pulled him forward then pushed Batou away, making him fall on his rear, all while the rest of the crew were staring at the exchange, as Batou rolled backwards and pushed himself in the air to land on his feet, a deep scowl on his face. As he was to attack again, Saito put his hand on his shoulder making him look behind him at Saito who was shaking his head in a 'no go' sign. Growling for a moment to sighing in defeat he calmed down, but not without stairing intently at the backside of Ghosts head.

However Ghost suddenly turned around stepping to the side, as Motoko walked up to him and Saito. "Pack up everything, were leaving" she commanded as she walked between the two, as they followed her with their eyes, they turned back at ghost... who wasnt there anymore. As they looked around the room finding nothing, they looked at each other. Saito just shrugged his shoulders, and walked away, gathering everything he had put away during the event. Batou was still looking at the spot that Ghost had stood on, frowning. "knowledge is power, use it well" the words just slipped his tongue as he spoke them, but they had a sour taste to them making him frown even more as he walked away. As he walked away, he never noticed that ghost was looking at him from the second floor balcony and following him with his eyes. "The world made an impression on you early on, of good and evil. And that's why your part of section 9, Batou. Don't make me regret it" he said as he walked down the balcony and as he walked down the balcony, he disappeared as his body became hazy and just vanished as the potted plants leaves moved by an sudden gust of wind.

Hours later, at section 9's building, Aramaki was sitting at his desk reading the debrief of the team, and also looking at the reports from the federal bureau of prosecution, with their report about the investigations and prosecution of the spy. As he read it, he put it away, leaning into his chair and stared at the ceiling. As his eyes fell down on the chairs and sofas in front of the desk, he noticed the man sitting in them, a whiskey bottle and glass on the table in front of him. "Ghost, where is the world heading to? Corporate spy's working to steal national secrets for its own corporations, Americans denying that such a thing would be true, and trying to claim we are the liars. What ever happened to regular honesty?" he asked. Ghost looked at him through his mask, then started to chuckle. "Oh, have you started to go senile old man. This is how the world has always been, since the beginning of religion to the corporations of today, a collected few trying to control the will of the masses. You know that, and that is mankind's failure. We seek control, if not of ourselves then of others. A religion is only a glorified way of saying, 'we control what you think, and what you do'. A corporation is the same, they control the masses through their products and the media. And if someone steps out of line, they are removed. They control the world, not the governments, elected or chosen. We have no freedom of choice. Nothing of importance at least" he said as he leaned back into the couch. Aramaki frowned slightly.

"I already know that, and you already knew it was a rhetorical question that I didn't need explained." but as he said that, ghost started to laugh even louder. Aramaki didn't understand what was going on, until ghost walked up to the door and opened it. Standing outside was the major, frozen in surprise that she had been found out. Ghost just walked back to his seat, waving her to come in. As she walked in and closed the door her eyes landed on Ghost. She now noticed the spiky blond hair, the black shirt with a white line running across his shoulders and the black military pants and the long-necked boots with a black metal around the foot. He was motioning her to sit down, so she did. As she sat down, she looked at Aramaki and ghost, going back and forth trying to figure out what was going on. What ghost had said, it went against everything section 9 worked for. They were meant to protect the city of Newport, and that meant to protect the corporations that were established here. As her eyes landed on Ghost his hand moved.

"Motoko Kusanagi, you've been part of section 9 since the beginning of its creation, and you have worked beyond the necessary. You and you alone, is the single most important piece in this chess-play against cybercrime in this city. What I said about this world, is nothing but the truth. You and I, we work in the same way. We work in the shadows, serving the light. But I want to ask you, what do you believe. Are we just chess-pieces in the greater battle against injustice, willing to be sacrificed for the greater good, or are we the chess-players, moving the pieces and sacrificing some of our own in order to win the greater war?" She looked at him, her face not betraying her feelings or thoughts at all. She stared at him for a long time before she spoke. "We are neither the pieces nor the player, we are not even on the board. We are the ones who make sure no one cheats, but we will step in to even the score. Balance is everything, even if we don't like it, the status quo must be upheld. If one side loses so must the other." Ghost seemed to ponder her response for a while before... laughing.

She didn't understand why, but she felt relieved as he laughed. And as he stopped, settling into a steady chuckle. His hand rose to his mask as he spoke. "The law of equality, anything you want must be paid in equal amount. I thought that no one remembered it anymore, but I guess..." he trailed of as he removed the mask, his hair flowing with it as he removed it showing her his face. A a hard golden beard and mustache on his hard jawline, and a light smile on his soft yet hardened face, two small metal pieces sitting around the outer sides of each eye like broken sunshades, around eyes which were like a blue ocean. As she caught herself staring for a moment, she remembered something. His right eye had glowed a golden yellow before, yet here it was deep blue. She filed that away for a later date as he leaned his head slightly and head bowed eyes closed. "Hello, my name is Naruto. A pleasure to meet you, face-to-face" he smiled as he said that and reached for the glass, holding it in front of him as if he was studying it before drinking. As he was to set it down, Motoko noticed something. He wore gloves, even indoors.

"Ive noticed something about you..." she said making his hand stop before the glass reached the table, as he looked up at her with a slight interest. "Yes, what is it you've noticed" he leaned forward in his seat, clasping his hands together balancing his elbows on his knees. "Ive a lot of details that change all the time about you. Your eyes, at the park they glowed golden yet now there green, you move like a shadow yet you're not prosthetic or cybernetic, and you are far more knowledgeable than most people ive heard about... Who are you really?" her question didn't seem to move him at all. "I am who I need to be, not what my self or others want" he stood up as he moved towards the door. "Why nothing seems to fit? You'll just have to find out one day, Aramaki, Kusanagi, Good day." he said as he walked out the door and down the hall.

Motoko frowned, he completely walked around her questions without answering anything or giving hints. It irked her, seeing as she had meet the man three times today and still didn't know anything about him. Looking at Aramaki she waited for him to tell her. But he simply booted her out the door, saying she would have to find out herself. And that's what she decided to do.

A few hours later, in northern district of Newport she hid behind what felt like the hundredth alley today. She didn't understand why he walked the whole way down here. She had skipped on taking a Tachicoma in case he could spot it, and just cloaked herself and stalked him there. As she started to think about giving up, ghost seemed to stop in front of a restaurant for some reason. As she peered around the corner towards him, he turned his head the other way then right at her. She recoiled back into hiding, not for the first time during the last few hours. Peering back out again, she saw him walk into the shop pushing the fabric-flaps that acted as a door aside. As she sneaked up to the restaurant entrance, she peered in between the flaps at the door. It smelled of broth throughout the entire shop, and the place was very small, about 6 seats on a row inwards with the counter to along the room inwards with the pots, pans and kitchen on the right. He was sitting on the middle seat, all alone there seemingly waiting for his food probably, but as the chef turned around he put down two bowls, one in front of Naruto/ghost and one next to him on an open seat towards the entrance. She was confused at that, until Naruto patted the seat next to him.

She sighed as she decloaked and walked in, knowing he had already known she would follow him. Sitting down next to him, she looked at the contents of the bowl. It was plain miso soup. Looking to her side she saw him seemingly enjoying his food. She looked back down at it. In her head she sighed at the mans mistake. She was fully prosthetic, which meant it was unnecessary to eat, and even then it didn't taste anything. Picking up the chopsticks, she broke them apart and started to eat. After the two finished eating in relative silence, except the sounds of the street and the shops humming through the door. As Naruto finished his bowl, he turned to her. "You don't give up, do you'" he joked slightly as he sat there. Motoko looked at him for a while, then stood up. "I don't, because you're someone I have nothing about, I don't know anything about you and yet im supposed to work with you? It doesn't work that way." she said as she started to walk outside.

Naruto just sighed as he stood up as well, putting the money on the counter and bid farewell. As he walked outside, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a cigaret and a classic zippo lighter. As he lit one, he watched the street and walked down it, pulling long breaths through his cigarets. As he came upon a small garden, he heard a lot of noise, and someone who was grunting in pain. His head turned towards the sound as he started to frown. Suddenly shade glass slid out of the metal frames that were on his face, hiding his eyes from view. As he walked towards the commotion, he started to tighten his hands and arms with small buzzing noises coming from both. As he came around the street wall separating the backstreet with the main one, he noticed a group of gang members harassing an older man.

His face turned really hard at that, as his frown deepened. Walking towards the punks he made them aware of his presence by grabbing a dustbin lid as he passed by one at the side of the street and throwing it at one of the punks head, sending him to the ground with a loud bang and a painful grunt. As everyone's attention turned to him, the man who was kicking the old man turned to Naruto. "Who the hell do you think you are, you got a death wish pal?" Naruto frowned, looking right at the now known leader, as the gang he had with him started to surround him. Looking around him at the whole gang, he started to speak to the leader without looking at him. "Im simply going to warn you that if you continue with this, you are just buying yourself a one way ticket to hell." he then turned his shaded eyes on the leader. "So take my advice, walk away or you're going to watch everyone here die before you hit the bucket." The gang started to laugh to themselves talking to each other about how stupid he was. The leader pulled out a gun and started to wave it around in a lazy manner laughing.

"Oh tough-guy, ain't ya. You know what, that's a pretty good coat you got there. How about you hand it over before my guy's take it from you" As he said that, the rest of the gang started to nod and beat there hands together. Looking around himself, he counted 4 gang members around him and 6 more at a distance, with the leader a good 30 feet away. Looking down closing his eyes, he put his hand to his face shaking his head. Starting to remove his gloves and putting them in the pockets och his coat, he spoke with a low tone. "I see you cant be convinced to leave, so im just going to have apologizes because this coat is all that kept you alive" he finished, as he started to remove the coat the people noticed his hands were dark colored. As he removed the trench-coat, he held it with one arm out, just as the gang members started to back away.

His arms were mechanical cyborg arms with mechanical muscles moving along his arms as they contracted, in a jet-black coloring with small dots of glowing red along his arms. The arms overlapped his shoulders like they had just been attached on top of his old arms. His torso was encased in a black steel flack-jacket. His face frowned really hard now. "Know this in your last moments, this is all your fault and you'll be dead before this coat hits the ground." As he said that, he threw it into the air, and started to move. As he moved his arms down, his lower-arms opened and a square 3 foot blade flowed out as he slammed into the two guys right into the chest. As he pulled the blades out, they turned around facing backwards as he slammed the blades into the two behind him and pulling out again. All in a second or two, four of the gang members were out. As the blades contracted into the arms he aimed at the rest of the gang with his arms just as large needles shot out of his wrists, hitting the rest of the mooks.

As he let down his arms as they smoked from firing he started to move towards the leader who was shaking like a leaf aiming at him. "S-Stay away, stay away!" he roared as he started to open fire, but Naruto just turned his body so the bullets missed and kept walking forwards. As he stood in front of the leader he raised his arm towards the leaders chest, putting his palm against the heart. "Like I said, dead before it hits the ground." As he finished, the guys eyes popped open before slowly dieing. Naruto pulled his arm back showing a long wrist-blade covered in blood. Looking at it then at the leader who now sat with his back against the wall, flicked his arm as the blood left the blade and let it disappear into his wrist again. Kneeling down, he spoke. "Rest in peace, what little peace you can find" he then closed the guys eyes with his fingers and stood back up. Looking behind him he walked over to his coat, picked it up and put it on along with the gloves. Looking around he walked over to the old man.

"You okay old man?" as he asked the man looked at him in fear first, but it slowly ebbed away as he nodded. "Good now go home, I don't think you want to stay here for much longer." he said as the old man started to walk away with a slight limp. Smiling to himself, he raised the hood over his head and started to walk away as well, as he slowly vanished in the night.

During the whole event on the rooftops above, a lone set of red cybernetic eyes had seen the whole thing with great interest. Motoko had decided that she wouldn't go back, and she was glad she hadn't cause what she had seen was not a normal man. He moved just like he had done back in the war, if not faster. The whole event had lasted less than 5 seconds, he had not wasted any movement and hit the killing points every time, until the point of him simply vanishing into the dark.

She now understood what the golden shine was, those shade-like glasses that seemed built into his face had flashed as he started to move. She understood why he never left the coat behind. But it still didn't explain the smooth movements, the body-stopping ability's, the shadow-like movement. She knew, from her heart that he was better than her and that he was far beyond her when it came to controlling his body. But that was the one thing about him that still eluded her. She had never seen that type of arms before and she was very certain they weren't standard prosthetic limbs, if even that. Her eyes frowned at the complexity of the puzzle that was Ghost. But she would solve it someday, she always did.

**Im finally finished. Its been to long, to many days and months, even years since I even wrote something for FFN, and I believed for a long time I had lost my ability. I really apologizes that its taken so long and ive probably lost a good amount of people because of my lazy updates, but its been hard this year. I went through rehab for a stress disorder that almost killed me, and in a way I simply lost my talent along the way. But ive slowly been recuperation and steadily been regaining my thoughts. Im going to try and work again with these storys, and do what I can but its a steep hill to climb to get back to where I once was, but ill try. But I wont know if I did something worthy of my passed works, until you tell me what you think. I sent a copy of this to a friend to Beta, so we've ironed out all the visible kinks in it.**

**Ps: if you noticed something ive borrowed at the end, then yes, im a huge fan of a certain game coming out in Q1 2011. Mostly because the soundtrack you can find is mind-blowing. ****'Michael McCann – Icarus'****, best theme-track ive heard in years. Also, i find these borrowed ideas fitting in this story. You'll understand my premise about what ive thought about, but it involves a law that was spoken about in this story, cant say anymore... 'Even with his wings, Icarus would never reach the stars, as he would lose them as he reached into the heavens.'**_**  
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